Animal Surrender & Intake

Valley Humane Society has always been pleased to offer the public a place to privately surrender guardianship of their pets. Our first priority, however, is to the animals in imminent danger of being euthanized at our local municipal shelters. Therefore, in order to maximize our lifesaving capabilities, we adhere to strict intake guidelines.

All private surrender requests are screened. Acceptance of surrendered pets depends on available space, the results of health and behavior assessments, and proximity to our service area. Recognizing that older animals and those with special needs do not fare well in public shelters, VHS reserves 10% of our space for these special souls; more than that may not be admitted until space becomes available. VHS reserves the right to deny admission to an animal for any reason.

Due to the number of surrender requests we receive on a daily basis, we are unable to take in every animal that is brought to us. Those that we can take in are placed on our wait list, which can range from several weeks to several months. If the wait list reaches extreme length, we may close it to prevent misrepresenting our capacity to the public. Even if you are on our wait list, it is in you and your pet’s best interest to continue exploring alternative rehoming options. We suggest taking all available steps to find an adopter on your own, such as posting on social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc), creating flyers, and reaching out to friends.

If accepted, there is a surrender fee of $60 per animal. Please contact us for more information about our pet surrender guidelines, wait list, ideas for rehoming your pet, or if you wish to surrender an animal.